Rail system



I D. SHORT. RAlL SYSTEM'.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I, 192i.

@muted Mayu, w21..

I1 @Il INVENTOR ATTORNEY stares 'RAIL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentetliifay Zal, 1921.

Application filed February 1, 1921. Serial No. 441,626.

To @ZZ fw hom it 'may con-cern Be it known that I, DAVID SHonr, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Sioux City, in the county of IVoodbury and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail systems or conveyers and more particularly to rail systems for refrigerator cars, such as used on railways for transporting beef, pork or analogous products.

In the present practice refrigerator cars are provided with poles for supporting beef carrying hooks and the beeves or hogs are run over trackways to relative close position to the cars but they must be lifted and manually carried into the cars and hung upon the hooks therein.

It is an object of this invention to provide a railway system or structure whereby the manual carrying of beeves or hogs into the cars is eliminated permitting them to be run over a branch railway upon suitable trackage in the refrigerator cars.

Another obj ect of this invention is to provide a railway system which includes a main railway wit-hin a refrigerator car and a plurality of branch rails branching therefrom, certain of which have switch connection with the main rail while others have permanent connection with the main rail and also to provide a branch rail from the feeder rail which is adapted to have connection with the receiving rail of the railway system of a refrigerator car.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following'detailed description and in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan of the rail system illustrating a refrigerator car in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a detail section through the rail system showing the manner of supporting the rails.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the railway system includes a feeder rail l which is supported along the loading platform of a meat packinghouse, which feeder rail is ofthe usual construction comprising the rail proper 2 formed of rectangular strip metal and supported by hangers er hook supports 3 which are attached in any suitable manner to a permanent support. A branch rail 4 is connected, by means of a switch 5, with the feeder rail 2 and any number of'these branch rails may be provided depending upon the length of the loading platform. The branch rails et are adapted to have connection with the receiving rails 6 of the railway system of a refrigerator car as indicated at A. The receiving rail 6 has switch connection with the main-rail 7 which extends longitudinally of the center of the refrigerator car A. A plurality of branch rails 8 extend laterally from the main rail 7 away from the direct opening 9 to which the receiving rail 6 extends. The rails 8 extend parallel and are spaced proper distances to permit the supporting thereon of beeves, hogs, sheep, etc. The branch rails 9, which extend transversely across the car A in the same direction as the receiving rail 6, have switch connection, by means of switches 10, with the main rail 7 so as to permit the switches to be open to allow the hook carrying rollers employed in conveying the heavy carcasses over the rails of the railway to be moved along the main rail 7 and branch therefrom on any desired rail 8 and 9.

The rails 6, 7, 8 and 9 are preferably similar in construction to the rail 2 and supported by hangers similar to the hangers 3.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it will be apparent that a railway system for refrigerator cars and loading platforms has been provided which will permit the loading of refrigerator cars with heavy carcasses without requiring the carcasses to be carried manually.

It is, of course, to be understood that the invention may be constructed in various other manners and the parts associated in different relations and, therefore, I do not desire to be limited in any manner except as set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. The combination with a refrigerator car of a main rail supported longitudinally in the center of the car, and a plurality of branch rails branching off in opposite directions from the main rail.

2. The combination with a refrigerator car ofa main rail supported longitudinally in the center of the car, a plurality of branch rails branching olf in opposite directions from the main rail, the branch rails extending to one side of the said main rail having wedge connection with the main rail.

3. The combination with a refrigerator car of a main rail supported longitudinally in the center of the car, and a plurality of branch rails branchingoff in opposite directions from the main rail, a supply rail, and switches connecting said supply rail to said main rail.

4. The combination with a refrigerator car of a main rail supported longitudinally in the center of the car, a plurality of branch rails branching off in opposite directions from the mainiail, a supply rail, switches connecting said supply rail to said main rail, the branch rails extending to one Side of said main rail having wedge connection with the main rail.

5. In a railway System, the combination of a feeder rail, branch rails, switches connecting said branch rails to said feeder raill` a car carried main rail, and a plurality of branch rails extending laterally from said car carried rail'in each direction.

6. In a railway system, the combination of a feeder rail, branch rails, switches connecting Vsaid branch rails to said feeder rail, a car carrying main rail, a` plurality of of said main rail having switch connection l with the main rail.

In testimony whereoffI aiX my signature.

DAVID SHORT` 

